Apple and Microsoft both have their own, dedicated retail stores. Can Google be far behind? If the rumors are true, the answer is “not at all,” with the first Google stores due to open by the end of this year.

Citing “an extremely reliable source,” the gossipmongers at 9to5Google report that the Chocolate Factory is hard at work on plans to open its own flagship stores in “major metropolitan areas” in time for this year’s holiday season.

The stores will reportedly highlight Google’s Nexus devices, the Chrome browser, Chromebooks, and other new products to come, with an emphasis on giving prospective customers the chance to get hands-on with Googly kit before they buy.

About those aforementioned new products: according to 9to5Google’s source, foremost among them will be Glass, the Chocolate Factory’s much-ballyhooed experiment in wearable computing – which makes some sense, considering that few customers are likely to be willing…